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iPod Shuffle Deconstructed

tomofdarknesss writes "Apple Matters posts a disassembly of an iPod shuffle." They're not getting any warranty service, I suspect.

19 of 90 comments (clear)

  1. warranty by mmkkbb · · Score: 5, Funny

    i think that as long as they don't try to eat it, they're in the clear

    --
    -mkb
  2. Yeppers! by Bios_Hakr · · Score: 3, Insightful

    There's a green circuit board thingy and a battery. Oh, and a switch and a headphone jack.

    How about these guys do something semi-useful and try and list the components used on the PCB? How about figuring out what kind of battery and what the interface is.

    Nope, nothing useful here. Just a bunch of boys smashing a toy.

    --
    I'd rather you do it wrong, than for me to have to do it at all.
    1. Re:Yeppers! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Nope, nothing useful here. Just a bunch of boys smashing a toy.

      You're unclear on the concept of pioneering effort. Very importantly, these "boys" made a sacrifice to show the rest of us how -not- to open an iPod shuffle. Their first two actions were unnecessary and potentially permanently damaging. You don't need to pop off the switch or the control "dial". You carefully pull off the USB plug (without tearing the short ribbon cable) and then slide the innards out.

      I'd say theses "boys" are iPod hacking pioneers, while critics like yourself are doing sweet shit all for the community.

  3. Quick Note by Rie+Beam · · Score: 4, Funny

    I take it he got his free IPod.

  4. You can fast forward. by Xenex · · Score: 4, Informative
  5. Pulling tiny electronic devices apart isn't as fun by sendai2ci · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The battery looks to be a lump of Lithium polymer, other than that, can't really tell anything else about the device. Since they have practically ruined the device, why didn't they go the whole hog and pull off the black plastic covering a few of the components on there...

  6. Inspired Technology. by eRondeau · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Ten years ago this would have been proof of alien visitation. Now, when 95% of the world's computers are functionally similar, only cutting-edge industrial design, packaging, and marketing will differentiate them. Like it or not, Apple is still way out front of everybody else on all counts. They will sell 20,000,000 of these this year.

    1. Re:Inspired Technology. by zpok · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yup, you're right,
      1) it's not a new thing, so it's not as 'cutting edge' as some people scream, and
      2) its real strength indeed is in the integration with iTunes and iTMS.
      But I think you're wrong on some counts:
      1) people won't be disappointed because these things work as advertised (they just don't make your pimples go away)
      2) apple is in its own way doing truly new things, like for the first time making products in the consumer's spending sweet spots.
      3) and they don't need more daring, they're plenty daring as it is right now, a new Newton would help them as much as a new Cube - which the mini isn't, I should know, I still use my cube as my primary computer. It's great but not for everyone. The mini has a much larger audience waiting.

      --
      I think, therefore I am...I think.
    2. Re:Inspired Technology. by XxtraLarGe · · Score: 4, Informative

      Not to the 95% of the world's population for whom price is a bigger factor.

      I was just at Walmart this weekend pricing MP3 players. Most of the 256 MB Rio's and MuVo's were in the $89-99 price range. In this instance, I'd say a $99 512 MB iPod is highly competitive.

      --
      Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
  7. Re:Congratulations. by MattHaffner · · Score: 4, Funny
    -v, --verbose
    This option increases the amount of information you are given
    when reading a post. By default, first posts are cryptic and
    force readers to click on random URLs. A single -v will
    give you information about what the heck the first poster
    really meant and a brief summary at the end. Two -v flags will give
    you information on what was skipped (intentionally or not) by the
    second poster and slightly more information at the end (than you
    probably wanted to know). More than two -v flags should only be
    used if you are debugging your browser or are a glutton for punishment.
    (with a healthy nod toward the rsync man page)
  8. Techno porn! by Boccaccio · · Score: 5, Funny

    Talk about striptease! It's not fair only having a link to the next pic in the series. Cut to the money shot already will you. I wanna see it naked!!!

  9. CPU and Memory by macmurph · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Dear Apple Matters. I think people want to see what the processor and memory are of your broken iPod. Could you please update your web site with photos of those components?

    PS. Macro mode on a digital camera could substantially improve the image quality.

  10. Mod up +1 insightful by Zhe+Mappel · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Precisely right; your elegant quip really took the wind out of the previous remark.

    The fact is that differentiation is measurable by much more than the criteria of design, packaging and marketing; there are objective and subjective issues.

  11. profit? by jxyama · · Score: 4, Funny

    1) spend $99+tax on iPod shuffle
    2) destroy it completely to show that not much is new inside
    3) take pictures and post them on the web
    4) get minor apple slashdotted
    5) withold geeky information from the descriptions and piss people off
    6) ???
    7) profit?

  12. What? No circuits? by mnmn · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I was expecting to see ICs, what MCU is used, the type of amplifiers and how the capacitors are arranged. Maybe they have a custom IC. Maybe they used a transistor for an amplifier, or no amplification at all. Maybe its a 4-bit MCU + MP3 decoder, or maybe its a 16-bit.

    Slashdot demands more.

    --
    "Give orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you." -Nim Chimpsky
  13. Well done on styling from an apple site. by tod_miller · · Score: 3, Funny

    black/blue bands with black text one them.

    Brought to your by the select the text before you read it department.

    --
    #hostfile 0.0.0.0 primidi.com 0.0.0.0 www.primidi.com 0.0.0.0 radio.weblogs.com
  14. RAM by Linuxathome · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Poster shows the battery, but what about the RAM? Where's the 512MB/1GB that these things are supposed to hold---that's the more interesting aspects of this device.

  15. The REAL question by Skibbering · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ok.. Ok.. so they got the wrapper off. Big deal..

    What we wanna know: HOW DOES IT TASTE?!?

  16. White Balance! by Basehart · · Score: 3, Funny

    Anybody who risks voiding their warranty taking apart an iPod should really take the time to set white balance, if possible, so we don't end up looking at yellow versions of what I'm sure is a brilliant white object. That said, I really appreciate people taking the time pulling this stuff apart. Bravo.